‘Fatigued’: The shocking number that Far North police must overcome to beat youth crime

The Far North’s thin blue line has been exposed with astonishing figures highlighting the short-handed battle our cops are fighting in the midst of a booming youth crime crisis.

Queensland Police Union president Shane Prior with Far North region executive union member Senior Sergeant Rebecca Bradley outside Cairns police headquarters on Sheridan St. Picture: Peter Carruthers

The Far North’s thin blue line has been exposed with astonishing figures highlighting the short-handed battle our cops are fighting in the midst of a booming youth crime crisis.

Shocking data published by the Queensland Police Union has claimed the Far North holds the highest vacancy rate in Queensland of 13.2 per cent, with a shortfall of 118 sworn officers across the region.

It comes with Cairns in the grip of a skyrocketing rise in stolen vehicles and break-and-enters this month, with Premier David Crisafulli deploying officers from its rapid response unit in a desperate attempt to stem the tide.

Premier David Crisafulli and Member for Barron River Bree James meet with Chief Superintendent for the Far North Kevin Fitzgibbon, Cairns City Patrol Group Inspector Jamie Horn and Officer in Charge of Cairns Station Acting Senior Sergeant Lyall McKelvie last week. Picture: Samuel Davis

But the QPU’s statistics have highlighted how difficult that challenge will be in a region where less experienced police officers are often working in demanding roles, Far North union representative Rebecca Bradley said.

“It would come as no surprise that the highest vacancy rates in the region occur in the areas with the highest calls for service such as Cairns and Edmonton stations,” District Duty Officer Senior Sergeant Bradley wrote in the latest edition of the QPU’s Police Union Journal.

“What probably isn’t as well known is that these stations have some of the highest number of first year constables.”

A Queensland Police traffic officer waves drivers to pull over to perform a random breath test on the Captain Cook Highway at Aeroglen. Picture: Brendan Radke

Despite having an approved staff capacity of 193 workers at Cairns station, the key posting had more than 30 positions vacant, the union claimed.

Additionally, a further 31 police officers at the station are on long-term sick leave or have been assigned to other duties.

“It doesn’t take much to work out why our members in the Far North are fatigued,” Sergeant Bradley said.

“The diminished staffing numbers are particularly concerning when the Cairns division has the dubious honour of topping the state for DFV (domestic and family violence) calls for service year-after-year, having the highest count of DV occurrences reported than anywhere else in the state.

“That issue (is) compounded with a youth crime problem that shows no sign of abating.”

Premier David Crisafulli conceded more work needed to be done to bolster police numbers in the Far North while visiting Cairns last week.

“The (staff) allocations are sufficient. The problem is the attrition rate has been too high and positions haven’t been filled,” Mr Crisafulli said.

“There are vacancies that haven’t been filled because police are leaving quicker than they’re being replaced.

“We have to grow the number of permanent police in areas like the Far North and that’s been absent (in the recent past).”

Queensland Premier David Crisafulli the lack of police officers in the Far North at a press conference in Cairns last week. Picture: Supplied

Mr Crisafulli said he had deep admiration for police officers across the state who were willing to put their lives at risk in the line of duty.

“I want the officers who work permanently to know how much we respect and value what they do,” he said.

“The fact that the thin blue line has gotten thinner over the years – that’s not an indictment on the men and women who wear the uniform.

“That’s a reflection of a broken system where police feel battered, broken and bruised and unrespected, where they haven’t had the laws or the resources to do their job.

“That is changing.”

Chief Superintendent for the Far North Kevin Fitzgibbon chose not to supply police numbers for the district when asked last week.

“The Far North has sufficient resources to meet the day-to-day needs of the greater Cairns area and the Far North as a whole,” Chief Superintendent Fitzgibbon said.

Police Minister Dan Purdie blamed the previous government for the region’s lack of cops.

“For ten years, the previous Labor Government clipped the wings of our police by not giving them the resources or funding they needed to do their jobs,” Mr Purdie said.

QPU president Shane Prior couldn’t be reached for comment prior to deadline.

Originally published as ‘Fatigued’: The shocking number that Far North police must overcome to beat youth crime